Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — Agencies wield substantial power with limited direct accountability, and the courts have begun to reexamine it in a way that will matter more than any statute. Two cases argued this term are the ones to watch. One asks whether courts must defer to an agency's reading of an ambiguous statute, … Continue reading Is the increasing concentration of federal regulatory power in independent agencies still consistent with constitutional accountability?

Orange County, CA Correspondent — Not for the office segment, and the numbers are now firm enough to say it without hedging. Office values are down somewhere between thirty and forty percent from the peak in most major markets, and considerably more for older buildings without amenities. Occupancy nationally has plateaued near half of pre-pandemic … Continue reading Is the current model of commercial real estate financing viable after the permanent shift toward remote and hybrid work?

Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — This question was academic until three weeks ago and now it isn't. Three presidents testified before Congress on December 5 and were asked whether calling for genocide against Jews would violate their codes of conduct. They answered that it depends on context. One resigned four days later. Here's why that … Continue reading Should universities face greater accountability for the intellectual and viewpoint diversity of their faculties and curricula?

Clermont, FL Correspondent — The premise deserves a correction before the analysis, because the market answered and the answer was surprising. Oil spiked briefly after October and then fell for the rest of the quarter. Crude finished the year lower than it began, during a war involving the most important oil-producing region on earth. That's … Continue reading Will the conflict in the Middle East produce lasting changes in global energy markets and alliance structures?

Wheeling, WV Correspondent — Elections decide who holds power for a term. Using the legal system as the primary weapon changes the character of the competition. When prosecutions are widely viewed as selective or timed, trust in equal application falls and the next cycle repeats the pattern. That erosion is harder to reverse than any … Continue reading Is the growing use of legal process against political opponents a greater long-term risk to democratic norms than any single election outcome?

Dayton, OH Correspondent — Targeted support for genuine chokepoints can be justified. Broad multi-year programs across many sectors risk permanent dependence and political allocation. The manufacturing construction number is the striking thing this year. Spending on factory building has roughly doubled and it's concentrated in semiconductors and batteries, which is the policy working exactly as … Continue reading Should the federal government continue large-scale industrial-policy subsidies for strategic sectors, and should it pursue explicit decoupling from China in critical technologies or managed interdependence?